One month until Premier League starts – how clubs are shaping up for new season

The 2024-25 Premier League campaign starts on August 16 and following the conclusion of Euro 2024 fans will now turn their attention to their club’s preparation for a new top-flight season.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the leading talking points with a month to go before the opening game on Friday, August 16 at Old Trafford, when Manchester United will host Fulham.

What have ‘big guns’ got planned?

Half of the Premier League’s 20 clubs will be heading Stateside for their summer tours with matches scheduled for the end of this month and early August. Champions Manchester City and Chelsea will play in the Soccer Champions Tour, which also includes Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan, while Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United will face each other in a series of matches in various cities across the country. Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Wolves will also be heading to the United States, while both Tottenham and Newcastle will include a tour to Japan later this month as part of their preparations.

Have there been any big-money transfers?

Not many yet, and fewer high-profile names have been involved compared to last summer when England stars Harry Kane and Declan Rice completed moves to Bayern Munich and Arsenal respectively. The biggest deal so far has seen Michael Olise join Bayern from Crystal Palace for a reported £50million, while West Ham stumped up £40m to lure Wolves captain Max Kilman. Chelsea have signed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester for around £30m and Basel utility player Renato Veiga for £12m and Tottenham have paid up to £35m to tempt teenager Archie Gray from Leeds. Manchester United have paid £36.5m to land Netherlands forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and Ross Barkley has returned to Aston Villa from Luton, but so far, major transfers have been limited.

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What other major moves are in the offing?

Manchester City are reported to be in advanced talks with Leipzig to sign Spain’s Euro 2024 winner Dani Olmo and Manchester United have been linked with Bayer Leverkusen’s Germany defender Jonathan Tah. United have also agreed personal terms with Everton centre-half Jarrad Branthwaite, it has been reported, and the Reds, along with Tottenham, have also been linked with Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze. Other possible moves include Conor Gallagher, with both Tottenham and Aston Villa reported to be keen on signing the Chelsea midfielder and Brentford’s Ivan Toney, with Bees boss Thomas Frank admitting back in February it was likely the 28-year-old would leave in the summer.

What else has changed?

Well, five managers will be embarking on their first season in the Premier League and two other clubs will have a new man at the helm. Former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has replaced Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Enzo Maresca has succeeded Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea’s head coach after guiding Leicester back to the top flight. Fabian Hurzeler has taken the reins at Brighton in place of Roberto de Zerbi after leading St Pauli to the Bundesliga and both Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna and Southampton’s Russell Martin will make their top-flight bows after guiding their clubs to promotion. Former Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper is back in the Premier League as Maresca’s successor at Leicester and ex-Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui has taken charge of West Ham after David Moyes’ departure.

Any eye-catching opening-round fixtures?

There are indeed. Manchester City will begin their pursuit of an unprecedented fifth consecutive Premier League title at Chelsea on Sunday, August 18 when Pep Guardiola faces former assistant Maresca’s Chelsea. Manchester United will host the opening game of the campaign when Fulham visit Old Trafford on Friday, August 16 and newly-promoted Ipswich, back in the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, welcome Liverpool for the 1230 kick-off under Slot a day later. Championship play-off winners Southampton travel to Newcastle on August 17 and Leicester will host Tottenham on the Monday night.